Paul Kelly V Shane Crawford

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Who was the better player? Both won a Brownlow and both won 4 B&F's. Crawford with 4 AA's and Kelly with 3. Both great Captains and leaders at their clubs and in full flight great to watch.
 

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Abasi

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Paul Kelly was a standout player for the Swans, who got every last inch of talent out of his body.
Rocket Eade once mentioned at a sportsmans night I was at that Kelly would push himself so hard each game, that he'd often come off the ground and lose all 'control' of his bodily functions, such was the exhaustion he'd pushed himself to while out in the field of play.
If you ever hear the story of how he nearly quit the club as an 18yr old it's pretty inspiring, especially when you know what he achieved in the end.

Crawford was a similar player in the amount that he pushed himself. He will always be remembered though as a Footy Show clown, even though he's widely regarded and respected amongst the AFL community for his footballing feats.
 

Slattery_20

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#6
Hmm. Good one. Very good one.
If you had a side established, Crawf easy - slightly better at full flight & more versatile.
If you were starting from scratch, Kelly would be a superb building block & leader.
 
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#7
People look at Crawford and the first thing they think of is his public persona. People forget that he was 4xAA in struggling sides, a Brownlow medal and he won the players MVP in 99 as well. He was close to the best player in the competition, if not the best player in 1999.

Absolute heart and soul of the HFC for a time there.
 

The King!

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#9
crawf gets underrated. I went kelly cos i am too one eyed in this poll.

Crawfords body held up better, kelly was injured a lot the last few years. Kelly could take a grab and kick a goal up forward so ill give him the edge just.

But crawf is a 300 game superstar no denying that
 

Andronicus

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#10
2 of my favourites to watch. Both seemed great leaders on and off the field but for different reasons.

I agree with the comment that depending on where the team is at, you could make an argument for both players.

So little in it that it's almost not worth mentioning, but for the sake of the poll, kelly by the smallest of margins.
 

SouthSwans

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#11
I voted for Kelly but it's bloody close, bias probably got Kells over the line.

Crawf had an amazing capacity to run & run & run, his engine was just unreal.
He also had immaculate ball skills, a great footy brain and thrived in the heat of the 4th quarter.

Kells was the ultimate captain, a polished Jude Bolton.
Kelly to Lockett was unstoppable at times during the mid-late 90s.
Carried one of the worst sides in AFL history to a Grand Final in 96 and from then on missed only one of the next 6 finals series.
Never scared of a tackle, always a big game player, probably the most influential player I've seen in a Swans jumper (that includes Goodes & Lockett).

Both outstanding players, both underrated by the wider footy community.
 

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Cicatriz

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#12
Kelly by a margin. Still stands as my favourite non Geelong player of all time. His courage is unquestioned however it was his class that gets him over the line. For those who didn't grow up with him, think a much better version of Kirk.
 

Sin City

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#13
Kelly was brilliant, so courageous and a great leader. Injuries cut him down a bit and I think Crawford had a better career all up because of it.
 
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